


The Lucky Ones

by aflawedfashion



Category: Defiance (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Post-Series, Romance, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-20
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-10-08 02:09:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10375500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aflawedfashion/pseuds/aflawedfashion
Summary: Amanda and Nolan share a romantic moment after she finds him standing beneath a tree as the sun sets.





	

**Author's Note:**

> As always, my post-season 3 fic takes the assumption that Nolan came back because he always comes back, and I reject any other option. I have written his return in [ They Don't Have Scotch on Omec Ships](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7968229), but that is not required to read before this. Just know he came back and finally got together with Amanda.

Amanda stepped off the gravel road with her hands safely tucked into the pockets of her navy blue trench coat. She shivered as a cool breeze whipped through the too-thin fabric. Her wedge heeled boots were digging into the soft ground beneath her feet and the wisps of hair not tied into her braid were blowing into her face, but she felt like she had wandered into a postcard. The sun hung low in the sky and brightly colored leaves were scattered across the ground surrounding an oversized Votan tree. It was beautiful. 

But as beautiful as it was, she never would have expected to find Nolan standing alone beneath that tree with his back to her. 

“Nolan?” she asked, her voice low and cautious. It wasn’t like him to let someone walk up on him unnoticed, and she was starting to worry.

At the sound of her voice, he turned, facing her with his brow furrowed. “Amanda?”

“Hey,” she said through a breath that fell into a tentative smile.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked, looking her up and down as if trying to solve a puzzle.

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” She dug her hands deeper into her pockets. “I went to the lawkeeper’s office looking for you, and Poole said I'd find you here. Everything ok?”

“Fine.”

“Fine like actually fine, or fine like when I say I’m fine, but we both know I’m going to be crying by the end of the day?” she asked with a teasing smile meant to cover the seriousness of the question.

A bright smile crossed Nolan’s face as he reached his hand out for hers. “Really fine.”  

“Good.” Amanda returned the smile, her worry falling away as her fingers intertwined with his. “So you want to tell me what you're doing alone out here?”

“Yes, actually,” he said, hugging her so tightly against his chest that she could feel every beat of his heart. “I'm glad you're here. I want you to see this.”

“The tree?” she asked as she looked up at the leaves sparkling in the sunlight. “It’s beautiful.”

“Not the tree - what’s below it.” 

“Below it?”

“Yes,” he said, his eyes filled with sincerity.

She scrunched her face, unsure of what he could possible mean. “Browning grass? Dead leaves? Mud? Worms?”

Nolan sighed, shaking his head. “I was trying to turn this into a romantic moment.” Despite his exasperation, his eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Sorry.” She stood on the tips of her toes and pressed a quick kiss against his lips in an apology. “I’ll behave.” 

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She dropped back to her heels, her hands grazing his arms. “And I hope you know you’re the only person I’ll be so romantic for.”

“I’d hope so.” He nodded. “I think that’s part of this whole committed relationship thing that we’re doing.”

She rolled her eyes, snuggling closer to him to stay warm. “You know what I mean.”

“You mean that out of everyone, human and Votan, in this whole town, I’m the lucky one who you chose, who you waited for more times than you should ever have had to.”

“Something like that.”

“Thank you for making me the luckiest person in this town.”

“Mm, I think I'm the lucky one,” she said, and she believed it with all her heart. She had found someone who loved her for everything she was, who was there when she hit rock bottom, who knew about her past, her weaknesses, and her mistakes, and who still loved her and respected her throughout it all. 

Knowing tears would form in her eyes if she even tried to say what he meant to her, she placed her hand on the base of his neck, lowering his face to her own. Her thumb grazed the side of his jaw as their lips met in a passionate, lingering kiss. 

“What did I do to deserve this?” he whispered as she pulled away, still hovering so close together that their noses nearly touched. “I'm not sure I'm all you seem to think I am.”

“No.” She shook her head, looking deep into his eyes to convey her sincerity. “You are. You aren't perfect, but you're everything I need you to be, and I know you. Sometimes I think I know you better than you know yourself, and you're the only person I want to be kissing under this tree.”

“I  _ definitely  _ am enjoying all the kissing,” he said, freeing himself from responding to a compliment she knew he wouldn't know how to take.

“I spent too much time not kissing you that I need to make up for, but if I keep this up, I'm going to forget that I still don't know what's so special about the dirt out here.”

“Right, that.” He took a step away from her, holding both of her hands in his as he looked over her shoulder at the arch. “What's so special is that I think this is where it used to be.”  

“Where what used to be?” she asked as she gently shook her head. 

“My house when I was a kid,” he continued, meeting her gaze. “I think this is where it used to be.”

“Really?” she asked through a breath, looking to the ground beneath their feet as the reason they were standing below that tree fell into place. She suddenly felt a connection not only to Nolan, but to her town that she never thought possible. 

“Yeah, really.” He took a few steps forward, his eyes focused on the arch, the remnant of his childhood home. “Logically, I know the land’s not the same. I know St. Louis is gone, but if it were still here, this would have been the spot where I used to play baseball with my brothers. This would be where I would collapse on the grass after dinner, looking to the stars, wondering if I’d ever get to meet aliens and if they really looked like the aliens in Star Wars.” He flashed her a nostalgic smile. “This would be where I used to dream of going to the stars.”

“And you did,” she said, her voice filled with a genuine happiness for him that she never would have thought possible after he left. She wished she could go back in time and tell herself not to give up hope. “After everything that happened, you made your dreams come true.” 

“My 10 year old self would be thrilled.” He tilted his head to the side. “Of course, he never would have understood why I wanted to come back here after the most amazing trip of my life.”

“Home, family, love, a life with meaning… it’s all overrated,” Amanda teased. “I’m with 10 year old you on this one.”

“Oh well, I mean, if you feel that way about it, I bet Doc could get that Omec ship working again,” Nolan said as he feigned walking in the direction of downtown Defiance.

“No, stay.” Amanda tightened her grip on his hand as she pulled him back towards her. “I’ve given in to my weak human impulses. I admit I love you.” 

“I love you too.” 

She watched the expression on his face change from joking to serious, his eyes so full of love that if anyone had looked at her with such intensity five years ago, she would have run away, but not anymore. She wasn't afraid of letting him love her, not when she knew he loved every part of her, not after suffering through believing she had lost him forever.

“So, what did you come out here to find me for?” he asked, brushing her windblown hair out of her face.

“Nothing that matters,” she said as she pressed herself against his chest. 

Nolan wrapped his arms around her back, his fingers tracing the seams of her coat. “With you, there's always something important that needs attention.”

Amanda shook her head as best she could without moving away from him. “Not today.”

“I don’t think I believe that.”

“You shouldn't. It's a lie, but our problems will still be there later.”

“You sure?”

“Just sit with me,” she said, pushing him clumsily to the ground and curling up beside him. “I want to appreciate this.” 

“You want to appreciate dirt and browning grass?” he asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Are you sure you’re Amanda Rosewater and not an Indogene duplicate?”

“As much as I’d like to have the logical sense of an Indogene, I’m human, and I’m annoyingly sentimental sometimes.”

“Doc’s actually surprisingly sentimental once you get to know her too.” He tilted his head to the side. “Sentimental in a strange, Indogene sort of way. She would kill me if I told you how I know that, but let’s just say she can write.” 

“I’m still not used to you two being friends.” Amanda frowned. “It’s weird.” 

“I'm not sure ‘friends’ is the right word.” Nolan shrugged. “But when you get trapped with someone on a spaceship for a few months, your only options are to kill each other or learn to live with each other.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t kill each other.”

“Me too.”

He kissed the top of her head, squeezing her closer as they clung to a moment free from the stress of their lives, remembering the old world through the beauty of the new one. Despite the cool air numbing the tip of her nose, Amanda wanted to stay in that moment as long as she could, snuggled against the man she loved as the sun set on a gorgeous evening.

“You know,” Nolan said, breaking the silence as Amanda watched a leaf float to the ground in front of them, “if I knew you were coming, I would have brought a picnic.”

“I’ve got one better.” Amanda raised an eyebrow and reached into her coat pocket, pulling out a flask.

“And that is why  _ I _ am the lucky one.” 


End file.
